Maybe we should spend less time asking for subjects to remain on topic and more time slagging off strangers.
For your information, the volunteer moderator team will try to keep things on topic but this is a human forum with many members being friends (often meeting because of the existance of the forum) and not allowing a bit of banter would be rather clinical for a community.
It is topics where the whole subject is a chat or dialogue that are not CBF material - and these should be carried out on MSN, by email etc.
The chatroom allows 100% banter and helps keep it to a minimum on the forum itself.
Glad you find it 'comical', but in striking a balance between factual and community, I doubt you will find a better forum.